Kathy Harty

Resource & Education Services Librarian, Leo Dehon Library Sacred Heart Seminary & School of Theology, Franklin, Wisconsin

Describe your career as a librarian and where you work.

I am the Resource & Education Services Librarian at Sacred Heart Seminary & School of Theology, in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sacred Heart is a national seminary run as an apostolate of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCJ), an international order founded by Ven. Leo John Dehon in 1878. We have a seminary division that accepts students from dioceses and religious orders around the country, and a Master of Arts division that trains laity and seminarians for ministry in various parts of the Church. I’ve been at Sacred Heart since 1982 and have enjoyed pretty much every day! My current duties include answering questions; helping faculty and students with research; co-teaching a first-year course (Theological Research & Writing) for all incoming Masters of Divinity students; being the library webmaster; creating LibGuides; assisting with inter-library loan; assisting faculty in using Populi, our learning management system; filming, streaming, and editing video for special events; learning more about online teaching; basically, many of the public services. In addition, the library staff is first-tier technical support for students, faculty, and staff—a nice variety of things, never a chance for boredom!

Share something about yourself not related to librarianship.

My husband and I have three children and two grandchildren. I also teach fourth grade religious education at our parish.

How does your faith inspire or fit in with your work?

It’s a marvelous fit between the two because I don’t have to hide or suppress my faith; it’s a part of helping to train future priests and lay people for ministry in the Church. It has also given me the opportunity to get a second master’s degree in theology, and for attending conferences and other continuing education sessions. And I love to hear the faith journeys of our students, both lay and future ordained.

When and why did you get involved in the CLA?

I got involved with CLA through our local Wisconsin chapter. I had been encouraged by my library director to get involved locally, so I found out about WCLA and CLA. I served as the chair of the Academic/Library Education Section from 1991 to 1993, on the Executive Board from 1993 to 1995 as membership chair, and was the convention program editor from 1994 to 1996.

What has been your most rewarding experience with the CLA?

I think my time on the board was wonderful, because CLA was going through a transitional time, and seeing how board members and members worked so hard to preserve this resource was inspiring. And to see how it’s been kept up is encouraging.

What do you hope for the future of the CLA?

CLA provides a much-needed forum, focus, and resource, particularly for those smaller libraries at the elementary and high school levels, which allows the librarians to form their students well. It’s also a place in which librarians in specifically Catholic situations, or who are Catholic, can discuss issues that are pertinent in a helpful atmosphere.